This 16 YO Took A Gap Year After 10th And Learned More Than Our Education System Taught Her

Taking a gap year after your 10th board exams is almost unheard of in India. A gap year in our country has always had negative connotations attached to it. People assume at the onset that you failed to secure admission or that you have no further career aspirations. However, a gap year could be a very positive time to actually figure your life out. And that’s exactly what this girl did.

Sixteen-year-old Sagarikka Sivakumar from Trichy took a gap year after her 10th standard and it was one of the most productive years of her life. So much so that she penned down all of her experiences in a recently released book, ‘My Unskooled Year’.

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During her gap year, she interned with various firms, made stock investments and even produced two documentary films based on her trips to Mount Kailash and Leh respectively. 

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“I learnt much more during this one year than what I had in the 13 years at school.”

She felt that the learning she got from actually working out in the field and applying all the concepts learnt in real time made a world of a difference.

 

Her parents faced a lot of criticism for supporting her decision to take this gap year. But they stood firm behind their daughter.

“It was an unconventional decision. Had we pushed her to Class 11, she would have lost interest in studies. But now she is very confident, the experiment has worked.”

In fact, when she went back to school after her gap year, she topped her class!

 

Sagarikka’s mother, S Savitri was so convinced after her daughter’s progress, she made the following suggestion in Sagrikka’s book.

“It would be a great idea if schools make this one year break part of the curriculum.”

Sagrikka now wants to pursue further studies in the USA and has even received invites from universities to come speak to their students and motivate them.

Only in India is the concept of a gap year often frowned upon. People don’t realise that a year away from the mundane routine of conventional academics could bring about significant positive change. It gives you time to explore several opportunities and lends a much broader perspective on life. Honestly, a break like this must be encouraged. I know I would’ve made the most of it had I got one.

News Source: NDTV

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